From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carte Bleue ("Blue Card") is a major
debit card payment
scheme operating in France.
The system has now been integrated into a wider scheme called
CB or
Carte bancaire ("banking card"). All Carte Bleue cards are
part of CB, but not all CB cards are Carte Bleue.

The system is national, and pure Carte Bleue cards do not
operate outside of France. However, it is possible and commonplace
to get Carte Bleue VISA card that
operates outside of France. Carte Bleue, properly said, is the
local affiliate of VISA. Some cards
also double with the electronic cash
system Moneo.

From 1992 on, all Cartes Bleues / CB have been smart cards. When one
uses a Carte Bleue at a French merchant, one has to type the PIN of
the card, and a microchip on the card verifies and authenticates
the transaction. Only some very limited transactions, such as small
autoroute tolls, are
paid without PIN. Since automatic
teller machines also check for the PIN, this measure strongly
reduces the incentive to steal Cartes Bleues, since the cards are
essentially useless without the PIN (though one may try using the
card number for mail-order or e-retailing). Foreign cards without
microchips can still be used at French merchants, with the usual
procedure of swiping the magnetic stripe and signing the
receipt.

In 2003, the Cartes Bleues / CB started to move on to the
international standard EMV for smart
chips, allowing for their use abroad.